Going into this film, I was torn between digital video and photochemical film. Though I have grown up accustomed to digital video and digital projectors, I have always had an admiration for the the old-school filmmaking process, especially shooting and editing on a Moviola. That is, until I watched this film. Knowing what I know know, I cannot see the need for photochemical filmmaking un this day and age. Digital video cameras are easier to use and transport, the quality is comparable and sometimes better then standard 35 mm film, and digital effects are much easier to apply in post on a digital project. As I saw the video format seemingly evolve over the course of the film, I realized that we, as American cinema goers are adaptable, malleable beings. Most of us could care less if we are watching an analog projector or a digital one; we just like watching. Quentin Tarantino seems to have strong opinions on the subject, but he is in the definite minority. We have the technology, why not rebuild the film industry? Are we so set in our ways that we cannot make the transition. One day, film will be gone. I am not saying that it is anytime soon, or that video will outlast it, but I guarantee it will happen sometime. And on that day, we will finally have to accept that the medium we all grow up with has forever changed. With new inventors like the RED One camera with 4096 pixel resolution or a digital camera that can record to a laptop in someone's backpack, the world of cinematography is changing. Twenty-five years ago, no one could have dreamed of shooting a film with only a digital camera or color correcting a whole film with the press of a button. ANd that's all you really need now, a button. Digital video has made cinematography accessible to almost everyone, and, though this definitely has its downsides in the realm of the total quality of films produced now, it is also partly responsible for gems that never could have been mined and polished if not for the accessibility of filmmaking using digital video and/or editing. Important examples are films like Avatar, which would have been make fifteen years ago if not for James Cameron having to wait for filmmaking technology to catch up with his story. An example on the opposite end of the spectrum is Fincher's The Social Network that just happened to come along at just the right time; the film could not have been shot so quickly and cheaply without the use of lightweight RED digital cameras, commissioned by Fincher himself.
Going into this film, I was torn between digital video and photochemical film. Though I have grown up accustomed to digital video and digital projectors, I have always had an admiration for the the old-school filmmaking process, especially shooting and editing on a Moviola. That is, until I watched this film. Knowing what I know know, I cannot see the need for photochemical filmmaking un this day and age. Digital video cameras are easier to use and transport, the quality is comparable and sometimes better then standard 35 mm film, and digital effects are much easier to apply in post on a digital project. As I saw the video format seemingly evolve over the course of the film, I realized that we, as American cinema goers are adaptable, malleable beings. Most of us could care less if we are watching an analog projector or a digital one; we just like watching. Quentin Tarantino seems to have strong opinions on the subject, but he is in the definite minority. We have the technology, why not rebuild the film industry? Are we so set in our ways that we cannot make the transition. One day, film will be gone. I am not saying that it is anytime soon, or that video will outlast it, but I guarantee it will happen sometime. And on that day, we will finally have to accept that the medium we all grow up with has forever changed. With new inventors like the RED One camera with 4096 pixel resolution or a digital camera that can record to a laptop in someone's backpack, the world of cinematography is changing. Twenty-five years ago, no one could have dreamed of shooting a film with only a digital camera or color correcting a whole film with the press of a button. ANd that's all you really need now, a button. Digital video has made cinematography accessible to almost everyone, and, though this definitely has its downsides in the realm of the total quality of films produced now, it is also partly responsible for gems that never could have been mined and polished if not for the accessibility of filmmaking using digital video and/or editing. Important examples are films like Avatar, which would have been make fifteen years ago if not for James Cameron having to wait for filmmaking technology to catch up with his story. An example on the opposite end of the spectrum is Fincher's The Social Network that just happened to come along at just the right time; the film could not have been shot so quickly and cheaply without the use of lightweight RED digital cameras, commissioned by Fincher himself.